Ernest charles lea



(No Model.)

E. 0. LEA.

SEWING MACHINE.

Patented Jun Z, 1891.

UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST CHARLES LEA, OF KINGSTON-ON-THAMES, ENGLAND.

SEWlNG-.MACH|NE..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 453,262, dated June 2, 1891.

Application filed July 17, 1890; $e1'ial No. 359,093. (No model.) Patented in England May 9, 1890, No. 7,234.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST CHARLES LEA, engineer, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Silverdale, Kingston on- Thames, in the countyof Surrey,in England, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sewing-Machines, (for which I made application for a complete patent in Great Britain, No. 7,234, bearing date May 9, 1890,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in sewing-machines; and it consists of mechanism operated on by the plunger or downward stroke of the point of the needle to throw the shuttle from right to left and left to right in order to form thelock-stitch. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents the front elevation of the combination of the mechanism below the table d, with dotted lines to indicate the fall of the shuttle for passing the thread or cotton to form the stitch. The shuttle-carrier c with the shuttle d is in its normal position, and the outline of the needle 1) described by dotted lines to show the mode of the point a of the needle I) striking against the plunger Z to throw the shuttle from right to left, as indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 2 denotes the side elevation of Fig. 1 and the support with a vertical face-plate h in section supported on the bed t and broken off for want of space.

Fig. 3 is the plan of the top m of the plunger Z working in the cylinderk. Fig.4 is a transverse section on line 'A B of Fig. 3.

My invention is constructed with twopieces of steel m m,'in a convex form, converging toward the center, fixed rigidly in a tube stopped up at the bottom, as in Figs. 3 and 4:, and herein termed the plunger Z, which slides freely up or down in the cylinder 75. This cylinder is secured to the standard, as shown in Fig. 1.. The plunger Z is held in its normal position by the cam 0 on the socket r, the said cam 0 being held by a spring j, (the spring may be of any shape and fixed in any other position than what is described on Fig. 1, provided the spring is attached or butts against the cam 0 for the same object as hereinbefore described,) fixed in any convenient position. To the socket r, I fix the lever-arm with the shuttle-carrier c with a loop or staple f, in

order to hold the shuttle d with spool, which said spool and shuttle are pressed against the faceplate h by the spring 0 with a V-point. The shuttle-carrier c has the point 1) turned outward in order to prevent the carrier catching the thread as it moves backward when the machine is in action. The socket r works on the pivot s, and isv held in position by a nut 11.

It will be understood that the foregoing is given by way of illustration only, and that the shapes, materials, and proportions of the various parts may be varied in many ways within the scope of my invention.

The object of this invention is to operate with any eye-pointed needle by its downward stroke on the plunger to throw the shuttle (in gear) in order to form a perfect lock-stitch; also, by the formation of the convex pieces m m, converging toward the center, permits the needle to strike the blow near the point without injuring the said point, and the plunger Z,'working loosely, the action of the needle will always place the center of the convex pieces m m directly under the point of the needle. 7

I am aware that prior to my invention sewing-machines have been made with vertical reciprocating needles, driving shaft, gearwheels, levers, crank-handle, slides, arms, &o. I therefore do not claim such a combination as my invention, although the vertical needle is worked by such mechanism.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

In a sewing-machine, in combination, a vertically-reciprocating needle, a bracket having a sleeve secured to the frame ofthe machine, a shuttlecarrying arm pivotally secured to the machine-frame adjacent the bracket and having a cam-extension located under said bracket-sleeve, a spring bearing on said cam, a socket closed at the bottom located within the bracket-sleeve and resting on the cam-extension, two independent blocks having adjacent convex upper ends located within said socket, and a shuttle, substantially as described.

ERNEST CHARLES LEA.

Witnesses:

HENRY LEA, LEONARD LEA. 

